Gridiron Club picks Klobuchar to speak at dinner

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar has been confirmed as the Democratic speaker at this year’s Gridiron spring dinner, a hallowed Washington institution dating back to 1885.

The Republican speaker for the white-tie event on March 9 has not been announced. Traditionally, the dinner is a high-amperage event mixing media and political elites, including the president, for an off-the-record evening of self-deprecating jokes and irreverent skits.

President Obama’s attendance has been spotty, but the group announced Wednesday that it is “hopeful” of securing his attendance with the First Lady this year.

In a notice to Gridiron Club and Foundation members, the group noted that Klobuchar won her second term with 65-percent of the vote, that she’s a former prosecutor, and that her father, Jim Klobuchar, is a “long-time journalist in the Twin Cities.”

A Duluth native who just barely lost Virginia's GOP gubernatorial primary said that politicians have not gone far enough in condemning the left for violence during a rally of white nationalists in Charlottesville. "I think that the left is going to try to use this as an excuse to crack down on conservative free speech," said Corey Stewart. "I think they're going to try to use this as an excuse to remove more historical monuments."